Editing Ski binding (section)

==History==
Prior to the 1840s, ski bindings were a leather strap fastened over the toe of the boot, similar to those used for snowshoes.<ref name=":2" />

=== Norheim—ca. 1850 ===
[[Sondre Norheim]] demonstrated telemark skiing before 1866, and the Open Christiania turn in 1868, both made possible with a binding design which dated back to the late 1840s. This added a loop of twisted birch roots that ran from the existing birch root toe loops around the boot heels and back. This allowed the heel to lift as before, for walking and gliding, but better held the boots to the skis allowing greater control. This enabled Norheim to control the skis with his feet and legs, replacing the former technique of dragging a large pole in the snow on one side or the other to drag the skier in that direction.<ref name=":2">{{cite journal|last=Lert|first=Wolfgang|title=A Binding Revolution|journal=Skiing Heritage Journal|date=March 2002|pages=25–26|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wlgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA25|access-date=3 October 2012}}</ref> This control led to the development of the [[Telemark skiing|telemark]] and [[stem christie]] ski turns.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Lund|first=Morten|title=Norway: How It All Started|journal=Skiing Heritage Journal|date=September 2007|pages=8–13|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SlgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA9|access-date=3 October 2012}}</ref>

=== Huitfeldt—1894 ===
[[File:Huitfeldt-bindingen.JPG|thumb|right|A late model Huitfeldt-style binding. The toe clip runs through the core of the ski to bend up on either side. This model uses a metal heel strap with a lever buckle instead of an all-leather design.]]
Starting in 1894, Fritz R. Huitfeldt invented a binding with a secure toe iron which allowed the heel to move freely and evolved through the 1930s as the standard design. His innovations included:<ref name=":2" />

* Adding vertical metal brackets on either side of the ski to hold the ski boot (1894), augmented in 1897 by passing the iron bracket through a rectangular hole from one side of the ski to the other, before bending up the tabs.
* Passing toe straps through the rectangular hole and providing a buckle over the top of the boots, attached to the brackets and firmly bind the boot in place.
* Passing a strap over the free heel, augmented in 1904 with a cam lever substitute for the buckle over the heel, called the "Hoyer-Ellefsen toggle".

Skiers wishing to affix their heel to the ski, employed a "long-thong" strap.<ref name=":2" /> Further innovations included:<ref name=":2" />

* [[Mathias Zdarsky]]'s development of a ski binding that replaced the heel strap with a long metal plate under the sole of the boot, hinged at the front to allow the heel to rise, in the early 1900s. The heel was held to the plate by a short strap attaching at the back.<ref>John Allen,  [https://books.google.com/books?id=VVgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA12 "Mathias Zdarsky: The Father of Alpine Skiing"], ''Ski Heritage'', March 2008, pg. 12</ref>
* [[Marius Eriksen]]'s 1920 introduction of pre-formed plates that were screwed on top of the ski.
* Guido Ruege's 1929 invention of the Kandahar binding, which incorporated a front-throw lever that tightened the heel cable past the ski-mounted toe brackets and became known as the [[cable binding]].<ref name=":3" />

=== Rottefella—1927 ===
The [[Rottefella]] binding was developed in 1927 by [[Bror With]]. "Rottefella" means "rat trap" in [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20061211144308/http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1204328.ece Binding maker nails huge deal], on ''[[Aftenposten]]'', 11 Dec 2006 (archived)</ref> A bent, pressed-metal plate had three or four pins that stuck into the toe of a square-toed boot, which was clamped down with a metal bail. After victories at the [[1928 Winter Olympics]] in [[St. Moritz]], the binding remained the standard type for [[cross-country skiing (sport)|cross-country skiing]] through much of the century and continues as the [[#Nordic Norm (NN)|Nordic Norm]], manufactured by Rottefella and other companies.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Grout |first=William |date=October 1974 |title=Performance is the Cry of the X-C Revolution |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KicPH9IN4rAC&q=four-pin+ski+binding&pg=PA36 |journal=Skiing Magazine |language=en |location=New York |publisher=Ziff-Davis |volume=27 |pages=36 |issn=0037-6264 |number=2}}</ref>

=== Cable—1929 ===
[[File:Trulte-Heide-Steen-OB.RD0001e.jpg|thumb|Cable binding]]
{{Main|Cable binding}}
The introduction of the cable binding allowed the [[Stem Christie|Christie turn]] to become a standard on downhill runs, and to further support this style of skiing the Swiss racer Guido Reuge in 1929 invented a cable binding with steel clips below the boot heel to enable clamping the heel down for downhill portions. He named the product "Kandahar" for the international [[Arlberg-Kandahar|Kandahar Cup ski races]].<ref name=":3">{{cite book|last=Huntsford|first=Roland|title=Two Planks and a Passion|date=10 November 2009|isbn=9781441134011|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IY7hYFesJe0C&q=kandahar+binding+reuge&pg=PA286}}</ref> In use in alpine races, the Kandahar binding led to serious leg injuries, and by 1939 experimentation began in earnest on bindings that would release the boot in a fall.<ref name=":6">{{cite web|last=Masia|first=Seth|title=Release! History of Safety Bindings|url=http://skiinghistory.org/history/release-history-safety-bindings|publisher=Skiing History magazine}}</ref>

=== Saf-Ski—1937 ===
[[Hjalmar Hvam]] broke his leg skiing, and while recuperating from surgery, invented the Saf-Ski toe binding in 1937, which he later sold under the slogan "Hvoom with Hvam".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Byrne|first=Michael|date=September 2, 2016|title=Gear Physics: The Leg-Saving Brilliance of Skis That Let Go|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/gear-physics-releasable-ski-bindings/|access-date=2020-12-23|website=Vice.com|language=en}}</ref> This was a metal clip with a pyramidal top that fit into a slot cut into the sole of the ski boot. When the boot was rotated forward, the slot on the toe eventually rose above the metal pyramid, allowing the toe to release from the ski. The system was considered with suspicion by professional skiers, especially when Olaf Rodegaard released during a race. However, Rodegaard credited the release with saving him from a broken leg.<ref name=":6" /> In the post-war era, Hvam sold several thousand pairs of Saf-Skis, in an era when alpine skiing was in its infancy. Hvam continued to sell the Saf-Ski into the 1960s, but in 1966 his insurance rates increased so dramatically that he was forced from the market.<ref name=":6" />

=== Look Nevada—1950 ===
The introduction of the [[Look Nevada]] in 1950 represented a significant advance in ski bindings. The Nevada held the toe centred over the ski using two metal fingers shaped into an upside-down V. The fingers were pivoted to allow motion to the sides, and centred with a spring. During a fall, sideways torsion could overcome the force of the spring and allow the boot to release directly to the side. This design was quickly copied by other vendors, notably [[Marker (ski bindings)|Marker]], and had the first real impact on the dominance of the fixed-toe bindings. By the late 1950s, there were about 35 different release toe bindings on the US market,<ref name=":6" /> most of which used a normal Kandahar-style heel cable.

=== Cubco—1950 ===
The first modern heel-and-toe binding for alpine skiing was the Cubco binding, first introduced in 1950 but not popular until about 1960. A heel-release binding faced the problem that there was no obvious place to attach to on the heel, so the Cubco solved this by screwing small metal clips into the sole of the boot. This also eliminated the changes in performance as the sole of the boot wore down, or the geometry of the sole changed as the boot wore into the skier's foot.<ref name=":6" /> 

===Heel-release—1960s===
Marker introduced the Rotomat, which gripped onto the sole where it extended past the heel, and Look quickly followed suit with their Grand Prix design. By the mid-1960s, release bindings that worked on both the heel and the toe were common, and by the late 1960s, the cable binding had disappeared from alpine skiing.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":5" />

=== Plate systems—1970s ===
One problem with 1960s release bindings was that the boots were not standardized, and a binding that worked well on one boot might be dangerous on another, or might become dangerous over time as the boot shifted about. This led to the introduction of plate bindings, which used a metal plate firmly clipped to the sole of the boot, and bindings that clamped onto the plate. The plate could be easily removed for walking about. Plate bindings were popular in the US in the 1970s, notably the [[BURT Retractable Bindings]] and [[Spademan binding]], but never caught on in any major way in Europe. As more and more of the alpine skiing market came under control of European companies, the plate bindings disappeared, in spite of their excellent safety records.<ref>Seth Masia, [https://books.google.com/books?id=x1gEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA39 "The Better Mousetrap"], ''Ski Heritage'', March 2003, pg 39-41</ref> 

=== Standardized plastic boot-compatible systems—1970s ===
[[File:Salomon bindings 1980s 2011.jpg|thumb|right|Alpine ski bindings, featuring integrated ski brakes and step-in-step-out heels (ca. 1980s, behind, 2010s, in front).]]
The disappearance of the plate and alternate systems was due to a combination of factors, notably the introduction of standardized hard plastic boots. Plastic was first introduced by [[Lange (ski boots)|Lange]] as a way of improving existing leather designs. As the new material spread through the industry, the sole piece was standardized to allow toe-and-heel bindings to clip on. Plastic had the advantages of being much firmer than leather, not changing shape over time, and having predictable friction characteristics wet or dry.The new boots and bindings could be easily adapted to any ski for any skier. Injury rates from alpine skiing began to fall with the gradual introduction of the Teflon anti-friction pad around 1972.<ref name=":5" />